


Stowaway

by Moonykins



Category: Doctor Strange (2016), The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types, The Avengers - Ambiguous Fandom
Genre: Curses, M/M, Stephen is oblivious, Weight Gain
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-06
Updated: 2018-09-06
Packaged: 2019-07-07 13:59:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,032
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15909660
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Moonykins/pseuds/Moonykins
Summary: Stephen comes home from another inter-dimensional mission feeling as though he hadn't eaten in weeks.  The feeling continues over the following month and he ends up gaining weight.  The only problem is that Tony can't get him to see that his appetite and body have changed.  The stowaway in Thor's room may be the culprit.





	Stowaway

The familiar woosh of a portal phasing into existence filled the air of the Tower and Stephen Strange stepped through into the living quarters he shared with Tony Stark. His feet dragged against the floor and he was covered head to toe in turquoise alien blood. He had a day from hell where absolutely nothing went right—to make matters worse, he hadn't eaten since the night before. He trudged his way to the fridge and threw it open, peeking inside at the contents. A note was attached to a large tupper-ware filled with leftover pasta.

“See? I can be nice sometimes. TS”

Grinning to himself, Stephen cradled the bowl in his arms and popped the lid with minimal difficulty (really, these containers were a godsend and Tony had specially ordered them to make it easier for his hands). A fork levitated his way and he hopped up onto a bar stool to begin his meal.

It tasted heavenly. Once he started he was having a hard time stopping. Had it been longer than twenty four hours since he had last eaten? Maybe time had worked differently in the dimension he had last been in. How long had he been gone? Twisting, he located a calendar on the fridge and noted that it was still the same day it had been when he had left initially. Shrugging, Stephen went back to his meal.

Tony had left him a substantial amount of food. He must have made an entire pound of pasta and only eaten a minimal portion before stuffing the rest away for Stephen. The sorcerer was surprised when he effortlessly reached the bottom. Huh, that was weird. He didn't usually have this much of an appetite. Getting up, he went back to the fridge to rummage for something else to snack on. There was leftover Chinese from the day before so Stephen grabbed several quarts of it and went to town.

Surprisingly, he was able to pack those away as well. But that was the most he could handle. He vanished the empty boxes and wiped his mouth on the back of his hand. A shower was the next thing on his list but getting to the bathroom was very difficult with how full his stomach felt. He rested a shaking hand on it, shocked at the way it seemed to bow out in front of him. He guessed he had eaten a lot so it would take a little while for it to settle. Scratching at the side of his clothed stomach, Stephen went off to take a shower.

Tony was sleeping like the dead so there was no worry that he might accidentally awaken him. Stephen crept right passed, magicking his clothes off along the way. He sleepily turned on the shower and stepped under the spray, letting out an almost orgasmic noise as the scorching hot water poured over his aching muscles. The blood swirled down into the drain below his feet as he soaped up and spent some extra time under the spray, just sleepily existing. By the time he got out he was far too tired to dry off by hand and simply used a spell for it instead. His hair was fluffy and standing at awkward angles but Stephen didn't care. He was just going to go straight to bed anyway.

Lifting the covers, he slipped in and turned on his side. Heaving a sigh, he finally closed his eyes and let sleep take hold. Through the last dregs of his consciousness, he felt Tony wrap around him like an octopus, hands resting on Stephen's full belly.

\- - -

Tony watched suspiciously as Stephen rose from the couch for the third time to go and refill his bowl of popcorn. It was strange (hah) to say the least. Stephen never had very much of an appetite but all of the sudden he was eating Tony out of house and home. He could hear the telltale signs of the microwave heating something up, popcorn kernels bursting to life and Stephen humming to himself.

“What's up with him?” Tony asked Stephen's cloak, which was perched beside him.

The cloak raised its sides in a shrug. Tony should have known better than to talk to an enchanted garment.

A minute later and Stephen came back into the room, curling back up in his spot on the couch beside Tony, eyes glued on the television screen. Brown eyes searched him over, locking onto the little belly that the wizard had been growing recently. Tony wondered if Stephen even realized he had been gaining weight. The man certainly didn't act like it, but then again he hadn't been very vain when it came to his looks after becoming the Sorcerer Supreme. Now he encompassed that cool, mystical, I-don't-give-a-shit attitude. It was kinda fitting for a wizard, Tony thought.

The Cloak of Levitation ruffled to life, dipping its end into the popcorn bowl and scooping up a metaphorical handful. It lifted the food to Stephen's lips, feeding him while Stephen fed himself. Tony blinked. Huh, he hadn't ever seen that before.

“Uh, so, you got a tapeworm or somethin'?” he found himself awkwardly asking.

Stephen looked over at him, one delicate eyebrow raised. Tony noticed that his face had filled out some, his cheeks looking a lot less sunken than they usually did. It sent a shiver down his spine for reasons he wasn't entirely sure of. The cloak didn't stop offering him food. “No? Why?”

“Oh, I don't know.” Tony leaned forward, swinging one leg up onto the couch. “Maybe because you're on your third bowl of popcorn tonight. Oh, and because I watched you eat an entire extra large pizza to yourself yesterday. And then a whole pint of ice cream the day before. Or how about last week when you made yourself a whole breakfast spread and said you'd leave me some but then you wound up eating everything?” Tony's hands were gesticulating wildly in the air. “Is there some interdimensional famine spell I should know about, Stephen? I'm really trying not to freak out here but I'm kinda sucking at it.”

Stephen was still eating everything the cloak offered him while watching Tony and silently debating his words. “I've just been...hungry.”

Tony's jaw dropped open. “Yeah, I can tell!” The cloak stuffed another helping of popcorn into Stephen's mouth and Tony just about lost it. “Will you tell that thing to back off for a second? I'm trying to talk to you.”

“I don't really see the problem here.”

Tony's eyes widened. “How...How can you not see that this isn't normal? You're eating everything in sight, Stephen! Before you came to me you hardly had a meal a day and now suddenly you're eating every hour around the clock! It's weird!”

Stephen raised a hand to feed himself more popcorn and Tony lunged forward. He grabbed the bowl and threw it at the wall, spilling popcorn all over the floor. Stephen stared as the cloak gathered up the fallen pieces. “Okay, that was unnecessary. Can you try and calm down and speak to me rationally?”

Tony was fuming at this point. “Stephen, baby, I'm freaking out. How can you not notice that this isn't normal?”

Stephen seemed to consider this, having a moment to think while the cloak worked on putting the popcorn back into the bowl. Tony watched as he prodded at his stomach. God, his stomach. It was definitely a lot bigger than it used to be. Stephen Strange could have never been described as chubby in all of the time that Tony had known him but now the word certainly fit. His belly pooched out into his lap, round and proud and always hungry. Right now it was half full, despite all the food that Stephen had been shoving into it. It seemed to grow by the day. Tony had been trying to keep track of it but it was kind of a lost cause since Stephen's weight went up daily now.

And the weirdest part was that the wizard didn't realize it.

“It's not that bad,” Stephen decided, happy that the cloak had dropped the bowl back into his lap. “You said yourself that I needed to gain a few pounds. You should be happy.”

That was Tony's left eye twitching. But if Stephen wanted to play it this way then Tony would give him that. He sank into the couch with a sigh. “Fine. I mean, I am happy. I'm not dating Skeletor anymore. I just...I dunno.”

That seemed to satisfy Stephen, so simply leaned over and dropped a kiss to Tony's lips before his focus returned to the movie they were watching.

\- - -

“That's not normal,” Clint piped up, watching Stephen eat his fifth donut that night. The Avengers were gathered in the communal living room for what Steve referred to as Team Night which was supposed to boost morale. “I mean, how many pounds has he gained? Thirty? Forty?”

It was on the tip of Steve's tongue to set up an exercise regime for Stephen. Tony could see it. Tony figured that the only reason the soldier had held back was because Stephen wasn't much of a physical fighter and instead could rely on long ranged attacks. Still, he needed to be in a healthy condition in order to be on the team. He certainly didn't look it right now, but--

“I gave him a physical yesterday,” Bruce broke in, voice low enough so that Stephen couldn't hear from across the room. Thor was speaking to him loudly anyway. “If you can believe it, everything came back perfectly normal. The same as he's always been.”

Tony listened to them talk, his arms crossed over his chest, hiding the light of the arc reactor. He had been glad to hear that Stephen was still healthy, even after gaining an incredible amount of weight in such a short period of time. His stomach rounded out in front of him now, his old clothes no longer fitting. Tony had graciously bought him shirts and pants a few sizes up and Stephen had magically let out his robes which did a good job hiding his weight gain.

“Has he been acting strangely, Tony?” Steve questioned, looking down at the genius with a worried expression on his face. Tony never thought that Steve and Stephen could get along, but they did so almost effortlessly. Stephen admired Steve's heroic need to protect all of them, the hotheadedness he had exhibited around the time of the accords fading away after the ordeal with Thanos. Steve recognized that none of them would be alive right now if it weren't for Stephen.

“That's the thing,” Tony cast a look across the room, watching Thor clap Stephen so hard on the shoulder that the wizard nearly fell off the couch. “He's been perfectly normal. Every time I bring it up he acts completely indifferent. I tried to get him to see how much he's gained, because I thought any sane person would lose their mind, but he just brushed it off.”

“Maybe he's internalizing it.” Bruce suggested, though he didn't sound very confident in his thoughts.

Clint turned wide eyes on the rest of them. “The other day, he went out to a buffet with me, Thor, and Nat. He ate Thor under the table. That's not fuckin' normal, guys.”

Steve cringed and Bruce frowned. Tony could feel his anxiety building.

Natasha strolled over and plopped down right in Clint's lap. The archer complained but the Black Widow refused to move. She looked around at the men before sighing, knowing exactly what it was they were talking about. “You idiots do know that Thor has been hiding Loki in his room for the past month, right?”

Tony balked, eyes nearly popping out of his head. “What?! No. Nu-uh! Wormtongue isn't allowed within fifty feet of this Tower.” He glared at Natasha. “Why didn't you tell me sooner?! Don't you think this would have been something kinda important for me to know?”

Natasha calmly quirked an eyebrow. “What're you gonna do about it, Stark?”

Tony's fists clenched. He had enough. “THOR!”

The God of Thunder stopped mid laugh and stared across the room at the group huddled around the island in the kitchen. The rest of the room had gone completely silent, even Bucky looking up from where he was playing video games to listen. Sam had stopped barking orders over his shoulder, grinning like a giddy child at the aspect of some kind of action happening between his team mates. Peter had just come back in from the bathroom and looked completely uncomfortable.

“What is it, Tony?” Thor asked, standing up and walking over to the group gathered in the kitchen. Tony could tell by the look on his face that he knew exactly what had caused Tony's outburst.

He tipped his head back to glare at the Asgardian. “Have something you wanna share with the rest of the class?”

Thor resembled a puppy that had been caught piddling on the carpet. He seemed to curl in on himself, feet shuffling awkwardly. “Would...this happen to be about the fact that I happen to be stowing my brother in my quarters?”

“Ding ding ding! We have a winner! FRIDAY, tell him what he's won!”

Clint didn't bother stifling a laugh which earned him a harsh elbow from Natasha.

“Loki's here?” Tony hadn't even seen Stephen approach them but now he was standing beside him, looking on high alert. The cloak had flown out of no where to attach itself to his shoulders protectively.

Thor sighed heavily. “Brother, you can come out now.”

With a shimmer of green, Loki appeared in front of the group, grinning like the cat that got the cream. He spread his arms wide as if he were expecting multiple hugs. “Avengers! It is so good to see you!”

“I'm going to--”

Stephen easily threw up a shield in front of Tony, knocking him back when the smaller man tried to jump at Loki. “Tony, no.”

“Tony, YES!” the billionaire shouted, punching at the shield and pouting when it refused to budge. “Stephen, if you don't let me go this instant I am withholding sex from you for a week!”

Peter's face scrunched up. “I really didn't need to hear that, Mr. Stark.”

“Kid, we all know they're doin' it. Don't be such a prude.” Clint surely had bruised ribs by now. Natasha had elbowed him so hard that he was coughing.

Loki turned gleaming green eyes on the Sorcerer Supreme and slowly approached. “Ah, if it isn't my favorite sorcerer.”

Stephen remained as calm as ever. “What other sorcerers do you know?”

Loki looked momentarily thrown before he simply skimmed over Stephen's question. “The last time I had seen you I had been falling for a half hour in a dimensional rift! Oh, those were fun times!”

Stephen blinked, unphased.

“Uh, is this going to be a wizard-off? Because if it is I really need to put it on YouTube.” Peter reached for his phone but slipped it back into the pocket of his jeans with one look from Steve.

Loki leaned against the counter island in the kitchen, body as nimble and loose as a cat. A coy smile curled on his lips and he tipped his head to the side, neck cracking. His eyes roved over Stephen's body, settling on his stomach before he barked out a laugh. “You're looking plump, Strange. Having a little trouble keeping yourself from gorging yourself lately?”

That set off all the alarms in Tony's brain. It all made sense. Natasha had said Loki had been hiding with Thor for a month now. That had been around the same time that Stephen had begun exhibiting such weird behavior. The start of the weight gain.

“What did you do?” Tony hissed, punching at Stephen's shield once more.

Loki would be a fool to pull something now. Tony wasn't expecting an attack, just more smooth talking and possibly an exit strategy. He knew Stephen was already sealing Loki into the tower with his magic.

Loki's eyes narrowed, his words dripping with venom. “I got even at him for making a fool out of me.”

Thor gasped, turning on his brother and looking hurt. “Brother! I took you in out of the goodness of my heart and this is how you repay me?” Tony could see the disappoint in Thor's body language but he also knew that when it came to his friends Thor would protect them. He wouldn't stand for his brother messing with one of the Avengers. They were his family as much as Loki was, maybe even more.

“He started it!”

“Oh, what are you? Eight?” Stephen rolled his eyes at Loki's outburst. “I could have done so much worse.”

Tony sighed. “Stephen, honey, now really isn't the time to get into a pissing contest.” They needed to get Loki to undo whatever fucked up thing it was he had done. “Thor, get your brother to explain and fix things before I put him in a cage and drop him off the roof.”

All it took was a look and Loki deflated. He hadn't meant any real harm, just to toy with Stephen and exact his revenge. Loki was a trickster to the very end. “It's an undetectable spell. One to increase appetite and weight gain. He isn't even able to realize that anything is amiss.” Loki looked proud of himself, chest puffing out until Thor punched him in the arm and he hissed out in pain.

“Reverse it, brother. Now.”

Loki barked out another laugh and Tony was really starting to get sick of hearing it. His hands balled into fists at his sides and he wished he could deck Loki in the face but Stephen's stupid shield was keeping him at bay. “Have fun eating yourself to death, Strange!”

A beat passed where no one said anything as Loki continued to laugh, but then the smile faded from his face, replaced with a look of confusion. “...You warded me in here, didn't you?”

Stephen simply grinned, raising his hands and waving them around before Loki was being bound by crimson ropes. “Yep.”

The shield before Tony dropped and he stomped his way over to the Trickster. He punched Loki square in the jaw, so hard that it hurt his hand, but he didn't even flinch. “Fix it. NOW.”

Loki licked at the blood in the corner of his mouth, sitting on the floor now so as to keep from falling over. “Alright, alright! I'll lift it.” He muttered a foreign language under his breath, one that Tony couldn't rightly identify. Nothing happened, but still, Loki told them it was done. Tony didn't trust him until Stephen blinked and looked so very confused. He looked down at himself, hands feeling his stomach, cheeks flushing. With the spell lifted, nothing was keeping Stephen from realizing how big he had gotten.

Still, he had the good grace to excuse himself before opening a portal to their bedroom. Tony felt his heart crumble but the fire in his veins hadn't died down just yet. He turned sharply to Loki. “I'll get back to you later. Cap, throw him in the holding cell, will ya?” He could hear Steve's positive reply as he raced to the elevator to catch up with Stephen.

He found his boyfriend standing in front of their full length mirror in the bedroom, just staring at his reflection. For a moment, Tony hung back and watched. Stephen's eyes met his own through the shining glass and Tony knew it was alright to approach. He stepped up behind the sorcerer and looped his arms around him, hands settling on Stephen's belly which hadn't disappeared as a result of Loki breaking the curse. Tony hadn't expected it to go away—he knew enough about spells to know better. Loki's curse had included increased appetite which lead to weight gain. Removing that wouldn't lead to Stephen's excess weight simply melting away.

“I can't believe I didn't notice.” Stephen's voice was much more quiet and broken than it normally was. Tony's heart clenched painfully in his chest and he peered into the mirror at Stephen's sad eyes.

Dropping a kiss to his shoulder, his hands lovingly rubbed over the chub of Stephen's middle. “Don't beat yourself up over it. You were cursed. We all know you couldn't pack away that much if you hadn't been.”

The joke didn't earn any result from Stephen. He just sighed and turned in Tony's arms, staring down at him before gathering him in his arms. “I'm sorry I worried you.”

That was the doctor in him, worrying about others before himself. Stephen would constantly put Tony's well being above his own—he had been doing so since Titan. Tony both hated and loved it. “This isn't about me. How do you feel?”

Stephen pulled back, giving Tony a deadpan expression. “Fat. So very fat.”

Tony's hands were still on his middle, practically kneading his pudge. He couldn't help himself, a tingle running down his spine. “You aren't...fat, exactly. More like chubby.” This earned a heavy sigh from the plump sorcerer and Tony hurried to fix it. “It's not a bad thing! Really! It looks good on you!”

Stephen broke free from Tony's embrace, going to sit down on the bed. He cradled his belly in his hands, frowning down at it. To Stephen, it was likely an excessive amount. He had always been so skinny, all of his life. He had eaten so much while in a trance-like state and was only now coming out of it. Tony couldn't imagine how shocking that must be. He walked over and sat down beside his boyfriend. Stephen dropped his head to Tony's shoulder and the genius ran a hand through his silver streaked hair.

“You know I still find you just as attractive as I did when you were skinny, right?”

Stephen nodded but kept silent. It wasn't about that.

An idea came to Tony's mind. He pushed Stephen back among the pillows, earning a squeak of protest from the taller man which died off as he straddled Stephen's hips. “What are you doing?” Stephen asked, cheeks heating up in a spectacular display of blush.

“I know a really good activity for burning calories.” Tony surged forward, crushing his lips against Stephen's. A deep rumble of a chuckle could be heard beneath him. He was finally beginning to get through to Stephen.

“Oh?” Stephen was grinning by the time Tony pulled back which earned a smile from the mechanic. “Good, because I really don't think this suits me. I'd like to return to my normal weight.”

“I can help with that.” Tony pinched playfully at the puppy fat that has accumulated at Stephen's hips. The Sorcerer Supreme gave yet another squeak and turned even more red. “In the mean time, let me enjoy this.”

“Your kinks will never cease to amaze me, Tony Stark.”

Tony kissed his way down from Stephen's lips, along the column of his throat and south bound. He held onto a handful of Stephen's belly as he sank lower, nipping at the plentiful flesh and sucking some into his mouth. Stephen gasped loudly and a small firework exploded beside them. Tony always knew he was doing a good job when Stephen temporarily lost control of his magic like that.

Now that Stephen was no longer cursed and he was thinking clearly, Tony didn't have to hold back. He could tell Stephen just how incredibly attractive he found him like this. He could touch and kiss and play all he wanted. After all, it would only be a matter of time before Stephen was back to his original weight. Tony vowed to help him get there, but along the way he was going to have as much fun as Stephen would let him.

They made love that night, laughing with one another and falling asleep tangled together, Tony spooning up against Stephen's back, his hands protectively cupped around the swell of the sorcerer's belly.


End file.
